Syracuse BMV Hearing: What Joel Silverman SHOULD have said...

After attending the Syracuse BMV Hearing and then reading the ridiculous comments made by Governor Daniels' appointee, Joel Silverman, in the local paper, it caused me think a little about what I think he SHOULD have said - if he could have been honest and upfront about it.

Here is what I think Mr. Silverman should have said at the beginning of the meeting.

I want to thank everyone for coming tonight to express your interest in the Syracuse License Branch. Before we begin I would like to be open with everyone about why we are here. Last year the Democrats tried to close 44 license branches to save money. To stop it, the Republicans created a law which says the BMV must hold a hearing in every county where they are considering closing a branch. Now we have a Republican Governor who has appointed me to make the BMV more efficient. To do this, I have to close some branches just like the Democrats wanted to do. Now we wish we had never passed this law, but we are now stuck with it. After examining the issue we have found that due to the lease arrangements of various branches, we must close a few branches that on the surface might seem like illogical decisions. Syracuse is one of these. The law requires that we have the hearings, so we are. However, we feel it only fair in the interest of openness and honesty, to tell you that the Syracuse branch is likely to close no matter what is said at this hearing, and while that might seem like a closed case to you, we don't feel that we have any choice. The lease arrangements of each branch are dictating many of these decisions and we feel we should let you know about that right up front. As a part of this hearing I am willing to listen to your opinions for as long as you wish, but as a way of influencing the decisions, the lease arrangements are likely to trump all other arguments. I will stay and discuss it with you as long as you like. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I see no other way around it at this time.

Then Mr. Silverman should have sat down and listened politely to all comments and stayed until the last person left. He should have refrained from insulting the Syracuse residents by inferring that he "couldn't have an intelligent conversation" with us or by indicating that he thought "we should behave in a certain way."

Unfortunately for Governor Daniels, Mr. Silverman is representing the Governor in 24 public hearings around the state. The way these hearings are going, he isn't doing Governor Daniels any favors. The Indy Star has given the governor rave reviews for his openness, but even party insiders are having trouble seeing it these days. It is clear that many of the governors appointees are not accustomed to public service.

Just my .02.

New Blog Site at Wawasee High School!!!

Mrs. Ellen Stevens, principal of Wawasee High School has started her own blog site. Not only can you catch up on information straight from the superintendent here at The Wawascene, but you can click on Mrs. Stevens' link and get information about Wawasee High School straight from the principal.

Her latest post details corrections/changes in the high school registration dates for Wawasee High School.

Please remember to bookmark the site in your favorite files to keep up on high school reminders and commentary from Mrs. Stevens.

I also have included a web link on the side of this page.

School Board Meeting Highlights

Here are a few highlights from last night's school board meeting.

Last night the board honored retirees:

Ruthann Angle 27 years
Lynne Beer 28 years
Richard Bender 37 years
Miriam Eberly 27 years
Susie Heath 42 years
Beth Hursh 24 years
Karl Keiper 40 years
Marge Kryder 28 years
Paula Markley 33 years
Phyllis Matz 28 years
Sue Rathke 33 years

TOTALS 347 years
AVG. 31.5 years

They also recognized Milford student, Holly Kolberg for being a state and regional DAR essay winner. Holly moves on to national competition now. The board also recognized WHS student Zac Conley for saving a man's life by utilizing the CPR skills learned in WHS classes.

The board also gave approval to advertise for bus bids and after much discussion, voted 3 to 2 to appoint Pat Hurd has the appointee for the Milford Library Board.

Warrior Open

Thanks to all the Warrior supporters that showed up at the South Shore Golf Course today to raise money for the Warrior Athletes.

We had a full slate of teams and plenty of door prizes. I will report on the scramble winners later.

The morning group had a 15 under card turned in.

Special thanks goes to Athletic Director Mary Hurley who really knows how to put together an event and take care of all the little details. She did have lots of help though!

Attend Tonight's Hearing

Attend tonight's hearing at the high school at 7:00 pm if you have any interest in the decision to close the local license branch.

Here is a report on the North Judson branch hearing from the South Bend Tribune.

I have two points to make:

One:

The governor has directed his department heads to become "more efficient." While this may be a worthy goal - efficiency is not a societal end goal. Efficiency is a "means to an end" not an end in itself. In other words - what will the government actually do with their savings? Will it be returned to taxpayers? Of course not - it will be in actuality be another transfer of money and services from Kosciusko county to Marion county and elsewhere. What pet projects will be funded instead of your local license branch?

Two:

The direction is to be more efficient, but more efficient for WHO?

My .02